It's pretty odd to be saying this well into the 21st Century but, despite the prowess of the World Wide Web for sending official business communications, faxes are still a relatively common method for securely transferring documents from one party to another. On the onset, it's understandable to see why faxes are still useful, from the easy "push button" functionality to the availability of extra data such as unalterable time-stamps and transmission logs.

Still, some businesses might not have a dedicated fax machine and fax line at their disposal. Fortunately, faxes can be facilitated via the Web, thus they are naturally accessible through any standard web browser. MyFax is an online fax service that caught my eye and is worth a closer look.

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MyFax

Product Information

MyFax costs $10 a month, but you can try it for free for 30-days at no obligation. You do need to provide credit card information in advance, but as long as you cancel within the 30-day trial period, you won't be charged. After signing up, I was literally ready to go within minutes. I went through a short setup wizard which set my location and generated my fax number, which I could give out to anyone wishing to send me faxes.

At the main screen, you are given a few options for viewing and sending faxes as well as adjusting your profile and preferences. I went ahead and prepared to send a test fax, just to see how the speed and quality was. When sending a new fax, I was given a field to type information for my cover letter (which is delivered as the first page) and an upload space to attach a PDF, docx, pptx, and many other supported formats (PDF). For any given fax that you wish to send, you can specify up to 50 individual contacts to receive the transmission, very similar to the carbon copy capability used in email clients.

Sending faxes is quick and effortless.

A nice feature that is built into MyFax is the MyFaxCentral, which acts as an online repository for all sent and received faxes. For example, I was able to open the Sent folder and locate the test fax I recently submitted for delivery. Information included was the destination fax number, whether or not the transmission was successful and an actual stored image of the document shown with the specified quality settings. With a paid account of course, all faxes are stored indefinitely according to MyFax, which is especially important for keeping records.

Records are stored in MyFaxCentral.

At the end of the day, a fax is a fax, and MyFax is competent at the job while offering a usable interface and a reasonable price point that should be satisfactory for most businesses and individuals.

Bottom line

Now a big question that some might be asking is how easy it is to cancel the service, either during the trial or at any point during a paid subscription. As a means to prevent abuses of their trial accounts, individuals must chat with a customer support representative, via the text chat portal, in order to request a cancellation.

Despite my initial fears of MyFax representatives giving me the run-around and trying to keep me from cancelling my service, the CSR was quite friendly and had my account closed in under five minutes, no questions asked. It's refreshing to see that a company stands by their word with a no-hassle 30-day trial, making this service easier for me to recommend. I was also impressed with the fact that they had representatives staffed in the early hours of the morning when I attempted my cancellation request.

So, if you are looking for a solid web-based faxing service, thereby freeing you of the hassle of keeping a proper fax machine handy, MyFax is a worthy option to consider and the customer support is prompt and courteous. If you know of similar services to MyFax that you wish to recommend, feel free to opine in the comments section below.

About Matthew Nawrocki

An avid technology writer and an IT guru, Matthew is here to help bring the best in software, hardware and the web to the collective consciousness of TechRepublic's readership. In addition to writing for TechRepublic, Matthew currently works as a Cus...

Full Bio

An avid technology writer and an IT guru, Matthew is here to help bring the best in software, hardware and the web to the collective consciousness of TechRepublic's readership. In addition to writing for TechRepublic, Matthew currently works as a Customer Success Professional for Ultimate Software in Santa Ana, California.